When Winter comes
by ShinyAnn
Summary: Draco has every reason to hate humanity in general. Until a certain dark-haired , green eyed boy comes into his life and teaches him what it's like to be young, innocent and in love.


**Set in Muggle London.  
**

**Pairing : Harry/ Draco (SLASH) **

**Warnings : Sexual situations in later chapters. **

**Time Range :- Five Years after the war. **

**Summary :- Draco has every reason to hate humanity in general. Until a certain dark-haired , green eyed boy comes into his life and teaches him what it's like to be young, innocent and in love. **

**Rating :- NC-17.  
**

* * *

"I'm just hanging out here, what's the big fucking deal?" Draco Malfoy snarls, eyes flashing grey sparks into the winter air. He's sitting against the chapped brick wall of some sort of building , flanked on either side by wooden crates . The alleyway is dark and the stench of garbage is overpowering but its nothing he isn't used to,

The cop exchanges glances with his partner, a red haired freak who looks comfortingly like Weasley. He snorts at that. Who would've guessed? That the thought of Weasley would one day comfort him?

"Son, you need to get home. Its not safe here."

And that makes Draco laugh. Like really hard. Because he was Draco _fucking _Malfoy and he fought in a war for fucks sake and surely, _surely _he could take care of himself?

Apparently not, considering the fact that he's living on the streets, or _hanging out _as he calls it.

"Well _fuck you._" His voice comes out in a snarl . It reminds him of an animal.

The cop's eyes narrow and he mutters something to the red haired one next to him and Draco makes no effort to fight them when they drag him up roughly.

_I chose this, _he tries to tell himself as handcuffs slip over his thin wrists , the cold metal easily bruising his ivory skin.

_I chose this and I'm not gonna feel sorry for myself._

* * *

Draco wakes up on the cold concrete floor of the holding cell and blinks up at someone familiar.

"Granger." He grins. She has a look of disgust on her face. He hasn't seen her in nearly a year but she hasn't changed all that much. Same bushy brown hair. Except it looks good on her now.

"Get the hell up, Malfoy. We're leaving." She taps her foot on the floor next to him, impatience written all over her face. He extends a hand out and she rolls her eyes. Yanking him up , she sways for a second , which is funny because he is light as a feather.

"Get your things. " She says brusquely and he carefully collects the tattered duffel bag from the officer. He slings it over his shoulder and offers her a grin.

She smiles back grudgingly.

* * *

Hermione has a flat in one of the cheaper districts in London. She opens the door with a little difficulty , the lock was clearly old and rusty. Draco breathes in the familiar smell of lavenders. He notes a few subtle changes in the room.

"You moved the TV?" He asks casually , flopping down on the old couch. Hermione hums a reply, already busy in the kitchen, the sound of pots and pans carrying over to the living room.

She returns a few minutes later and finds him waging war against the Tv, trying to turn it on. Suppressing a smile, she casually flips on the power switch. He pretends he isn't embarrassed and shuffles over to the couch. He rubs his palms on his dirty jeans and she wrinkles her nose.

"Draco, don't be a pig. Go wash your hands." She says sternly and he pouts. There was a time when it was cute. Now it just looks ugly, the skin stretching over his bones.

He humors her though, and returns to find a plateful of food. Toast, jam, scrambled eggs, chips and mashed potatoes with gravy.

He hasn't eaten a square meal in days and he gobbles it down so fast, its embarrassing.

"Draco..."

He looks up, ready for the pity and the soft glance and he isn't disappointed.

"Quit, feeling sorry for me , Granger. It pisses me off." He doesn't mean to snap. He knows better than anyone else that he doesn't have the right to snap or be angry at anyone. Least of all the one girl who gives a damn whether he's alive or not.

Hermione looks stricken and he lowers his head back to the plate. She waits for a few seconds before kissing the top of his head and moving away.

"Thanks for the bail out." He calls out. She doesn't reply and he settles back against the soft plushies , finger fumbling with the remote.

* * *

Hermione leaves for work at eight in the morning and Draco has the apartment to himself.

"If you're going to disappear again, at least leave a note!" She yells out and he snuggles down deeper into the warm blankets, pretending he couldn't hear.

After she leaves, he catches sight of the breakfast on the table and grins. There is also a set of clothes, a nice thick jacket and a toothbrush.

If there was one person in the world he would give his worthless life for , it was Granger.

* * *

He settles down in the center of the apartment, enjoying the soft carpet beneath him. Its a vast improvement from rain soaked cobblestones.

He pulls out a small scrap of newspaper from his duffel bag. It has a list of want ads and he circles the ones he's already been to. There are a couple left, but he knows they aren't going to hire him anyway.

No one will. One look at the blonde and they would sneer.

He can almost hear the thoughts in their head.

_"You look like crap. You're clearly homeless. What could you possibly be good at?" _

He lays back on the ground staring at the ceiling and wonders what he's done wrong to end up like this.

* * *

The winter wind is biting cold and Draco buries his head into the collar of his jacket, trying to disappear into the fabric. The rain from earlier has dwindled to a drizzle and drops of water glisten on his blonde hair, occasionally catching the feeble light from the sun. Its not that he has anywhere to be, it's just that he is tired of lounging around Granger's house all day. Sighing , he pushes his ice cold fingers deeper into his jean pockets, curling them for warmth.

"Draco!" The voice catches him off guard and he turns around to get an armful of Granger.

"Why're you out? Its freezing!" Hermione proves it by giving a full body shudder that has Draco smiling. He loops his hands with hers and they make their way back to her human contact is refreshing and he moves his hands to her shoulder, pulling her close. She wraps an arm around his waist and the easy familiarity eases his thoughts a bit. He can't remember the last time someone voluntarily touched him.

She fumbles for her keys and Draco watches her closely when a voice echoes through the stairwell.

"Oh, hello Hermione."

Draco looks up and finds Potter, dressed in a sky blue shirt and black jeans.

He looks taller, his hair still messy as ever and a pleasant smile on his face. his cheeks are flushed from the winter and his bottle green eyes sparkle across the few feet between them. Draco is speechless for a second. Its like a blast from the past . A past he's striving to forget.

"Potter. Fancy meeting you here!" He calls out, genuinely surprised. To his shock however , Hermione places a hand on his shoulder , squeezing hard in a _shut-up-for-a-second _stance.

"Harry. This is Draco Malfoy." She smiles wide and Draco is offended. Granted he isn't someone important but why would she assume that Potter has forgotten him?

"Granger, of course Potter knows-"

"Its nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy. As you seem to know, I'm Potter," The boy laughed awkwardly," But you can call me Harry."

Draco is too busy trying to lift his jaw from the floor , to actively respond.

* * *

"What do you mean he doesn't remember things?" Draco is beyond curious. Hermione is beyond unhelpful.

"Its nothing much. He has selective amnesia. The doctors say he has suppressed incidents that have traumatized him. "

Draco wonders why he's on the list.

"So, he doesn't remember a lot of things?" he asks carefully, following Hermione to her bedroom as she drops the laundered clothes on the bed.

"He doesn't remember much after his eleventh year. " She gives him a rather sad smile.

The implication of the words hit home a little late.

"Wait ! You mean he doesn't remember _magic?" _

* * *

Draco runs into Harry the next day, on his way out to buy breakfast.

The dark haired boy has a stack of files and a camera slung around his neck, on arm balancing the pile and the other fumbling clumsily with the back of his jeans , no doubt looking for his key. Draco can't see his face over the precariously perched files.

Draco takes a moment to remember that the other doesn't remember him anymore ; which kinda makes their childhood rivalry one sided and ...foolish. So he goes against everything he's been taught and stops near the younger boy, hands resting lightly on the slender shoulders.

"Need help with that?"

"Dra- Draco? I.. This is a bit heavier than I thought." He can't see the awkward chuckle from behind the mound of files but he imagines it pretty well .

Taking pity on the poor thing, Draco reaches out and gently removes the stack from his arms.

Harry looks surprised at first but then his face relaxes into a grateful smile. He is dressed in the same shirt from the previous night, a few soup stains decorating his from. Draco bites back a smile at the sight.

Harry opens the door with a little difficulty and then promptly trips over the edge of the door, rolling at the last second to save his camera. Draco peers over the doorway and finds him sprawled on his back, his glasses askew.

"God, this happens all the time. I keep forgetting there's a ledge here." He quickly scrambles to his feet , relieving Draco of the files and nodding his head in thanks.

"Have you had breakfast?" Draco calls out on a whim and then mentally berates himself. All he has is Hermione's card and he wasn't sure if he could go around treating people with someone else's cash.

But his doubts vanish the moment he sees the blinding , happy smile on Harry's face.

He can find a way to pay her back.

* * *

Draco finds a corner booth in the small Breakfast cafe and Harry grins up at him.

"No one's asked me out for breakfast before. " He confides softly, biting into a muffin like a kid. Draco watches the crumbs fall into his stained shirt and resists the urge to reach out and brush them. He has a billion questions , the foremost of which is, _Don't I ring a bell?_

"So, What do you do?" He asks instead, adding sugar to his coffee. Harry looks thoughtful for a second and then shrugs.

"I'm a photographer. I .. uh work for this Ad agency and do some freelance work for magazines as well. Nothing fancy, but it pays the bills." He smiles and takes another bite of his muffin, " what about you, Draco?"

"I.. uh..nothing much. At least, not at the moment. " Which is technically true.

"Oh, are you a wizard?" Harry lowers his voice conspiratorially and Draco blinks . He then shrugs helplessly. It is true after all.

"Yes. Yes, I am. You know about wizards?" He asks, curiously.

"Yeah. They.. the people who found me, they told me I am one too. Or at least I was. I'm not anymore." He looks wistfully at Draco's muffin and Draco doesn't even think twice, moving the plate to the other boy's side. Harry takes a sip of his milk and Draco wonders if its possible for someone to just have their magic zapped out of them.

Seems highly unlikely.

" Not anymore? haven't you tried using your wand?"

After he says it, he wants to dig a hole and bury himself in it. He fervently hopes that Harry knows what wand he's talking about.

Thankfully, Harry doesn't look disgusted.

"Well, I did. They.. uh.. they told me to wave it about and say some stuff but.. uh.. nothing much happened." He looks apologetic , as though he was sorry for being a disappointment and Draco feels something twist inside his gut.

"So, you uh, don't remember anything huh?"

It is a bit redundant but he can't resist the urge to ask. Has to hear it himself.

Harry gives him a sombre shake of the head . And Draco feels like a bastard for being glad. Glad that Harry couldn't remember what an asshole he's been all his life.

Glad that he has the one thing he's been craving for the past five years.

The chance to start new.

"Does.. Does that matter?" Harry looks a little apprehensive and Draco finds himself grinning.

"No, not at all... Harry," its odd saying that name after years and years of 'Potter' and ' scar-head' , " It doesn't matter. In fact, let's have dinner tonight. "

Harry grins at him and all is well.

* * *

**So? Thoughts? Hate it? Love it? **


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